In October, Cuneo was awarded the title of Alpine City of the Year 2024, a highly prestigious international recognition that places Cuneo within a network of cities that have the Alps as their territory and the themes of environmental and social sustainability as their objectives of development.
Starting from this recognition, the Animalpina theme for the Montagna Festival recalls the profound identity of a territory that has always had very close ties with the mountain context and defines a series of new possibilities for observing and governing the territory in order to broaden the gaze to unite city and mountain.
The program
The Festival will open with the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday 14 May with Tommy Caldwell, the greatest climber in history, who will award Carlotta Gautero, gold medal in biathlon at the Youth Olympic Games in Seoul, and other Cuneo citizens. Afterwards he will give a speech entitled “Anything is possible”, in which he will tell his incredible story of challenges won against all odds.
Wednesday 15 May
The Mountain conference will be held tomorrow at 10am: tomorrow it is already here organized by APAM, Alpi Marittime Protected Areas, with Stefano Fenoglio, Federico Pellegrino, Franco Borgogno, Marco Albino Ferrari and Pietro Lacasella moderated by Irene Borgna. The conference This refuge is not a hotel will then be held, an archival story between anthropology, sustainability and architecture in the future – coordinated by the CAI of Cuneo.
At the Cinema Monviso at 6.00 pm the documentary film “The main dish of the Refuges – Walking in the Ligurian Alps”, made by Tiziana Fantino and dedicated to the refuges of the Cuneo Alps. At the same time inside the Spazio Baladin Sofia Gallo, in collaboration with Scrittori in città, will present her work A spring flower born in autumn.
The second day of the festival will close, at the Toselli Theater at 9.00 pm, with the show Polimero, a plastic puppet, created in collaboration with the CRC Foundation as part of Spazzamondo 2024.
Thursday 16 May
The day will start with two conferences organized by Art.ur entitled Voices – Alpine Architecture Dialogues, dedicated to professionals in the sector. Then PRIME MINISTER ALP, the second edition of “Climb the mountains”, supported by Compagnia di Sanpaolo and the City of Cuneo. At Baladin Enrico Camanni, in collaboration with Scrittori in Città and moderated by Raffaele Riba, will present his work The Sacred Mountain. At Cinema Monviso, the meeting Towards the unknown with Andrea Gobetti, one of the most important Italian speleologists, together with Enrico Camanni – in collaboration with the CAI of Cuneo and Nuovi Mondi Festival. At the same time but at the Toselli Theatre, Il Gigante will be staged, a theatrical show on Monviso based on the book The Legend of the Stone King by Silvia Bonino.
Friday 17 May
From 9am to 12pm and in the afternoon from 3pm to 6pm, the Assembly of the Alpine Cities will be held in the Meeting Room of the CRC Foundation. At Baladin we will continue with the presentation of the book FuTurismo (Raetia) by Michil Costa; to follow, the show promoted by Espaci Occitan directed by Diego Anghilante, AbeioAbeio, will be staged in the Sala San Giovanni.
At 9.00 pm the Cinema Monviso will first host the screening of Italia K2, a 1955 film by M. Baldi, and then a meeting with Anna Torretta and Silvia Loreggian – in collaboration with the CAI of Cuneo and Nuovi Mondi Festival.
From 9.00 pm at the Toselli Theatre, the Animalpina musical evening will be staged. First the Corale la Baita, choir of the CAI section of Cuneo, will perform. Then Cuneo, awarded the title of Alpine City 2024, will receive, through an official ceremony, the baton from the French city of Passy. The Occitan music concert “Sonaires Occitans Sonaires De Rota” curated by Sergio Berardo and Occit’amo Festival will end at 10.15pm.
Saturday 18 May
At 9.30 the conference Metro mountain dialogues for the construction of new opportunities for the Cuneo area. Speakers will be Antonio De Rossi and Loris Servillo, from the Polytechnic of Turin, Filippo Barbera and Alessia Zabatino. Moderating the round table: Paola Morino.
At 3.00 pm the film festival Paesaggi Futuri – Films from the territory will begin at Cinema Monviso. In the afternoon in Piazza Galimberti from 4.00 pm in collaboration with the Municipality of Mondovì and Visit Piemonte, the test of the hot air balloons of John Aimo Balloon and Milano Mongolfiere a restrained flight.
Followed by the end-of-year recital of the “Insieme Musica” Association and the concert of the Grand Occitan Orchestra, coordinated by the Lou Dalfin Association.
La montana in musica, a traveling concert, will be staged in Piazza Boves, Via Dronero, Piazza Galimberti and Via Roma.
At Baladin there will be two events: at 5.45 pm the Giovane Montagna di Cuneo mountaineering association will celebrate its 100 years and present the book celebrating the anniversary, with the Central President Stefano Vezzoso.
At 6.30 pm the presentation of the book 80 years on my mountains. Apology of a useless activity (fusta publisher) together with the author Mauro Manfredi and Nanni Villani.
To conclude, at the Cinema Monviso at 6.30 pm, Alessandro Beber, mountaineer and geographer, will lead the public on a small-big journey around the world entitled RENAISSANCE ALPINISM, in collaboration with Montura.
Sunday 19 May
The day will open again with the hot air balloon test of John Aimo Balloon and Milano Curved Flight Hot Air Balloons in Piazza Galimberti from 4.00 pm in collaboration with the Municipality of Mondovì and Visit Piemonte.
From 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm at the Cinema Monviso there will be the Chronicles from the end of the world series with documentaries selected by the Nuovi Mondi Festival.
At 5.30 pm the Baladin will host the presentation of Oddio, l’estate! by Adriana Riccomagno and the Manual for forest explorers by Elisa Carletto. Filippo Cosentino, composer of the Ascension Quartets, will accompany the presentations.
The festival will close at the Monviso cinema at 9.00 pm with the screening of Fredo Valla’s documentary Ambin, the rock and the feather dedicated to the Ambin massif.
The new mountain: contemporary mountain experiences
On Saturday 18 May in the afternoon and throughout Sunday 19 May the streets of the center will host The new mountain: contemporary mountain experiences, a space open to the public dedicated to the presentation of mountain innovation experiences.
